Floorp — Fast Privacy-Focused Firefox-Based Browser

Introduction

Floorp is an open-source Firefox fork developed in Japan that focuses on speed, privacy, and productivity features. It ships with built-in vertical tabs, workspace management, and flexible sidebar panels without requiring add-ons, while keeping full Firefox extension compatibility.

What Floorp Does

• Provides native vertical tab bar with tree-style tab hierarchy
• Implements workspace (tab group) management for organizing browsing contexts
• Includes a flexible sidebar panel system for web apps and tools
• Ships enhanced tracking protection and fingerprinting resistance by default
• Maintains full Firefox add-on compatibility via the WebExtensions API

Architecture Overview

Floorp is built on top of Mozilla's Gecko engine and Firefox source code. It patches the browser chrome (UI layer) to add features like vertical tabs and workspaces while keeping the rendering engine and security model identical to upstream Firefox. Updates track Firefox ESR and release channels with additional patches applied on top.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Download pre-built binaries for Windows, macOS, and Linux from the official site
• Available via Flatpak, WinGet, Homebrew Cask, and Scoop
• Import existing Firefox profiles including bookmarks and extensions
• Configure privacy and workspace settings via the built-in preferences panel
• Custom CSS (userChrome.css) is supported for UI customization

Key Features

• Multiple sidebar positions with web panel support
• Built-in note-taking panel and browser manager sidebar
• Progressive Web App (PWA) installation support
• Custom new tab page with background and widget options
• Profile switching without browser restart

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Firefox — Base browser without vertical tabs or workspaces built in
• Vivaldi — Feature-rich Chromium browser but proprietary
• LibreWolf — Privacy-focused Firefox fork but fewer productivity features
• Waterfox — Firefox fork focused on legacy extension support
• Zen Browser — Newer Firefox fork with similar goals but less mature

FAQ

Q: Is Floorp compatible with all Firefox extensions? A: Yes. Floorp uses the same WebExtensions API as Firefox, so all Firefox add-ons work without modification.

Q: How quickly does Floorp receive Firefox security updates? A: Floorp tracks Firefox release cycles and typically ships security patches within days of upstream releases.

Q: Can I sync data between Floorp and Firefox? A: Floorp supports Firefox Sync, allowing bookmarks, passwords, and tabs to sync across both browsers.

Q: Does Floorp send telemetry data? A: Floorp disables Mozilla telemetry by default and does not add its own telemetry collection.

Sources

• https://github.com/Floorp-Projects/Floorp
• https://floorp.app